The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Colin Cowherd Podcast - Seahawks Beat Patriots, Darnold Injured, Drake Maye INTs, Eli Manning Interview

Episode Date: September 10, 2026

Colin Cowherd reacts to the Seattle Seahawks dramatic win over the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl rematch. Colin gives his take on Sam Darnold's injury, Drake Maye's ugly interceptions and Drew Lock’s performance filling in for Darnold. How does he feel about both teams going forward the rest of the season? Colin is joined by Eli Manning. They discuss Jaxson Dart, Arch Manning and predict the biggest games of Week 1: 49ers-Rams, Bills-Texans & Cowboys-Giants. Sign up for Polymarket with code COLIN and get $50 on us for your first trade Presented by Bud Light. Stock up now on Bud Light!  Head to https://budlight.com/locator to find a store near you.  Watch Week 1 of the NFL on Netflix, starting with the Los Angeles Rams, versus the San Francisco 49ers, Live only on Netflix Thursday, September 10 at 8:35 p.m. eastern Wasabi Hot Cloud Storage, store more and do more with your data. Try them for free at Wasabi dot com. https://wasabi.com/ TIMELINE 2:00 Intro 2:30 Patriots-Seahawks 20:00 Eli Manning Interview  (Timestamps may vary based on advertisements.) Follow Colin and The Volume on Twitter for the latest content and updates!  #Volume See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Easy to drink. Easy to enjoy. Well, it was a pretty ugly and discouraging first half with Sam Darnal getting hurt. But Seattle in a really, really sloppy 13 to 10. win, their talent just overwhelms you. And that's one of the great things about the NFL is if you draft well, Philadelphia, Seattle, Detroit Lions, you can overcome injuries, you can overcome losses. And, I mean, that's Seattle defense. I mean, Drake May in that final drive had three great plays. He twice ran for a first down, once on fourth, once on third, had a big, big completion to the

veteran Mack Hollins. He throws this inexplicable interception in the end zone. It's like, Drake, he's still a kid. You know, you forget that. Like, this is year three. This is the first game of year three, you know, and he's still raw. He still makes bad decisions. And we knew that coming out of Carolina. He was, he was raw. So this game has so many things to talk about. First of all, the Sam Donald injury. Reminded me of a Ryan Fitzpatrick injury years ago, where he jammed his knee into the turf and ended up pulling his hip, and they thought it would be a six to eight week injury, and he had to have a surgery, and he was out for the season. You cross your fingers. Darnold has played hurt. He's been beat up. A lot of those games in New York, he is tough. I mean, Darnold is like a Herbert or a Josh. Allen, Patrick Mahomes, Jalen Hurts, he just plays hurt. And so, I mean, you really have to force Sam Darnold out. He's got to be in real pain to leave. I'm not a huge Drew Locke fan. He reminds me

a little bit of Will Levitt. Will Levis, you know, both Southern guys, good looking, confident, good arms. Don't love their judgment, make weird throws. But, I mean, they're talented. I mean, Drew Locke has a good arm. Will Levis has a good arm. They're not dumb guys. They're kind of sometimes overly confident, little too cool for school. Don't make me love Drew Locke, but I thought he was good enough, right? Not a very good Red Zone series, a couple of penalties, but again, he's a backup thrust into a starting role against a very well-coached New England defense and a very good New England team. You know, I look at Brian Fleury. This was my big concern. So, and I've said this before, in creative spaces, music, art, comedy, acting, and offensive football, the creative side of football, you can spot talent really early. It separates. Now, Samuel L. Jackson or a Rodney Dangerfield develop later. It happens, obviously. But the Spielbergs and the Eddie Murphy's and the Sean McVease and the, you know, Richard Pryl.

priors. You just see in the creative fields, it pops early. And a lot of these guys, the Ben Olsons and the Shane Steikens and the McVeys and the Shanahan's and the Sean Patens, you know, late 20s, you know, that hot zones, like 33 years old, and the world goes, who is this? So a 47-year-old, former defensive coach who gets his first OC job at 47, yeah, worries me. Not that he couldn't be capable, but he wouldn't be special, and he replaced Clint Kubiak, who looks like he's really, really special. So, and I've said this before, when a great offensive coach leaves, like a Kyle Shanahan or a Ben Johnson leaves, I mean, good luck replacing him. Liam Cohen leaves Tampa. They've never quite looked the same. Good luck replacing him. So we'll see how Brian Flurry looks.

really choppy, a lot of offensive penalties. Again, how much is the first time OC? How much is Drew Locke? Now, let's be honest about Drew Locke. This is not a rookie. It's not a second year guy. He's been in the league forever. So I think a lot of the penalties,

we can always blame the player. We always love to blame the player. I didn't think they looked terribly dialed up in this game. I just didn't, but it's game one. Let's not overreact. Last year, the Patriots lost game one, to the Raiders and went to the Super Bowl. Don't overreact. Two overwhelming takes. Drake May had some really bad picks late in the game. Drake May, three picks in the fourth quarter, only had one

of those in the fourth all of last season. So that's discouraging. And again, AJ Brown got hurt. So he gets thrust into a weird situation where, okay, now Romeo Dobbs is my number one. has a drop problem. That's why Green Bay bailed on him. By the way, that game could have been sealed earlier. Romeo Dobbs drops a ball out in the flat. That's the ball game potentially. That is potentially the ball game. Drake May would have been free and clear. They could have been more conservative. Instead, they had to go back again and Drake May throws a pick. And again, it's Seattle, it's on the road. I don't think Drake May is going to have three fourth quarter picks the rest of the season. Seattle is, I mean, they're just, they got talent everywhere.

I mean, last year, week seven against the Texans, the Seahawks had four turnovers and 13 penalties and beat playoff Houston. Week 11 against the Rams, they missed the game-winning field goal as time expired against the Rams. They had four turnovers. Week 16 against the Rams, They trailed 30 to 14, eight penalties, three turnovers. They beat the Rams. So, I mean, Seattle's just got so much talent that they, you know, that's why when they went clean in the playoffs, they won the Super Bowl. They just didn't make any mistakes.

So, I mean, Seattle last year, Rams, Texans, tonight, you know, Seattle was sloppy. They have a backup quarterback, but they have just hit on so many draftics. And they just have enough. Their veterans are really quality. guys like Leonard Williams. He's just such a great guy. One of the best USC players ever. Big personality.

People love him. Team guy. I mean, they signed him, even at his age, to an extension. They paid him big money. He's great in the room. Super, super smart football player. So I just look at Seattle and it's like, yeah, they're missing Nick Alman Worry and yeah,

they're missing Sam Darnold, but you still watch their speed. They're everywhere. this game just had so much. There was, like if Seattle loses, and they could have, without that great interception in the end zone, if Seattle loses this game, what would we be saying? Oh, brutal, Red Zone series, Flurry, Drew Locke, brutal. What was it?

Five tries from the four-yard line settled for a field goal. That's your ball game. But Seattle's talent overcomes it. We could have said multiple times. I mean, Drake, May, was unbelievable. Yeah, he made mistakes, but he ran for two first downs. He finds the receiver on a third, fourth, and fourth and nine. Like, this game is a game of inches, not feet. Is that Drake may, let's give New England credit, on the road, in Seattle, all these turnovers, and they should have

won that game. I mean, once Drake May, on a third down, scrambled for a first down, and Chris Collinsworth's like, oh, all the, all the advantage goes to New England. That's why when he threw the pick, you're like, what are you doing? If you're going to throw that ball, you know, you've got to throw it long. You have to give the defender no chance to make that catch. So, almost uninteresting first half, fascinating fourth quarter with plays everywhere. And, you know, one of the things, yeah, I'm looking at this right here. Y'all say this about Sam Darnel. You know I love Darnel. But, you know, you know, He leaves Carolina, they're worse.

He leaves Minnesota. They win five fewer games. He leaves Seattle in this game. And, I mean, they didn't score in the first half. Like, it was pretty rough. But I do think the advantage of having, like, Drew Locke, Drew Locke, this is his second stint with Seattle. And this happens in the NFL where you bring a guy back.

He kind of understands the culture of the team. He gets the room. People in the room like him and know him. Drew Locke's not a threat to Sam Darnold. but what is a backup quarterback? A backup quarterback is what Drew Locke did. Drew played pretty well. He made two or three really big throws. I mean, he had one to Cooper Cup called back because of an offensive penalty. But a backup quarterback, I've said this for years, if your starter goes out two games, they can win one of them. If your starter goes out four games,

they can win two of them, but don't expect long winning streaks. That's not what a backup quarterback or they'd be a starter. If you have to start them six games, they may not go three and three. They may go two and four. But two, four game sample can they win every other game? And I thought Drew Locke made enough good plays. Again, he's got talent. He's no dummy.

He's been around the league. The Seahawks are a great organization with a great culture. They brought him back again. So they obviously like him. And he, you know, he shined in a couple of big moments. So, you know, Seattle did what Seattle does. Sloppy turnovers, penalties, win. And, I mean, that game was getting to a point before that JSN touchdown,

where I text Josh, my producer, hi Josh, I said, if they don't score on this drive, if you want to do this 10 minutes early, he's like, I got a feeling. Well, what do you know? JSN changed it. JSN's such a unique talent. He is such, you know, I remember when Emmett Smith played for the Cowboys, and one of the knocks on M.S. Smith was he doesn't have breakaway speed, yet nobody ever caught him. And JSN's one of those guys, nobody's like, oh, he's a burner. Jammar Chase is like this. When Jammar Chase came out, and his speed's okay. Nobody ever catches Jamar Chase. Nobody ever catches JSN, you know, it's just deceptive speed.

ended up being a wildly entertaining football game. So what are the big headlines? Darnold, future. I mean, tomorrow, we're waiting for the results of, what do they do? Do you do an MRI? I'm not sure what you do. I'm not going to play a doctor on TV. Basically, tomorrow, the story is, is Donald okay?

because, again, Drew Locke can win. Okay. Remember, New England didn't play any of their starters in the preseason. And I think, I don't know if it was Mike Tariko or Collinsworth. I thought accurately pointed out, I thought it was really good broadcasting, pointed out, these guys looked tired. I thought New England looked really, really tired. Of course, they had the cross-country trip. I didn't think Seattle looked tired.

I thought New England looked tired. And I was wondering, I was thinking about this, if you're Josh McDaniel and Vrable, you're like, okay, we're in Seattle. We didn't play our starters in the preseason. Do we just go for it? We go for the win. That's the one thing about that interception. I can see the New England staff saying the Super Bowl champs, their roster's deeper.

We got them where we want them. Let's not play for the tight. You're on the road. Let's go for the win. because I thought Seattle was, they were as fast late as they were early. They were making plays all over the field defensively. I thought New England looked a little gassed. So, I mean, maybe that, maybe it's not that inexplicable.

Maybe it's a go for it. If we can get out of here with a win, let's not play for overtime. I don't like our chances in that space. And I don't think that's wrong on New England's part. I don't think that's crazy. I mean, maybe I'm wrong here, but I thought Seattle, they have a deeper roster. I didn't think they looked. I thought they looked fast on the final interception.

I mean, I didn't think that was an issue. New England, you looked at the body language, you looked at the sidelines, they look tired. Seattle will do that to you. If you're listening to this, you're probably not a casual NFL fan, as you know, neither am I. Budlatt understands that our passion runs deep. They've given us a chance to do more than just live and breathe, our NNNN. NFL teams. We can drink them. Check out the Bud Light NFL team cans. And more than that, you can take your game day to the next level. Scan the QR code on your Bud Light Team Can

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because they wanted that player. Or you grab a small school rookie off waivers and you start him right before he goes off in prime time. There's no better feeling than crushing your fantasy football league. I'm JJ Zacharyason, host of the late round fantasy football podcast. Before your draft, our players to target and players to avoid episodes tell you exactly who to circle and who to cross-up.

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Now when you say the Manning name, I don't think about Eli. I think about Arch. And we'll get to that in a second. But I want to start with this because the season starts tonight, right? You live in New York still. You still live in New York. Yeah.

Okay. So you saw, I saw Sam Darnel at USC, all right, that West Coast guy. You saw him in New York. I got the good version. You got the bad version. How surprised are you at his career ascension the last two years? I'm not surprised because I saw him at USC also. I got to spend some time with them. He came to the Manning Patsy Academy. He was in college. You got to be around them with the Jets, watch them. And you saw a kid that was super talented. You saw a kid that worked hard. He was into it. He was committed. He just, you know, he just wasn't around the right. the right people, the right place. You know, goes to San Francisco, kind of grinds his way, goes to Minnesota, and, you know, gets in the right system, has some talent, has a couple receivers around them. And Justin Jefferson plays extremely well, make the playoffs, has one of the best

records in the NFL. So to go to Seattle, again, surrounded with a good run game, one of the best receivers. I mean, it's a great story and just, you know, proud of him because it's, you know, it's not easy. It's not easy in this league. and everybody goes through struggles early on and to not lose his confidence. You know, I'm not surprised by this. Yeah, both you and him are egos and coachable.

And I think that goes along. Everybody likes Eli Manning. Everybody likes Sam Darnold. I was at a function not long ago. And it's like he's just, when you talk about Sam, he might as well be a scout team linebacker. Like he doesn't hold himself above teammates. It's just a dude, right? Yeah, egoless.

You know, just he's one of the guys. He works hard. He's not looking to be famous. He wants to play football. He wants to be a good teammate and go win games because it's important to him. You know, when you won your two Super Bowls, the only downside of that success is the NFL then takes you and put you on every Sunday night and every Monday night. It's brutal. Last year, the Chiefs, year before last year, they played on every day but Tuesday.

the Seahawks now open the season on a Wednesday. We'll get to the Rams Niners in Australia. But when you were the year after your Super Bowl wins, when you're just, I mean, you're basically, the network looks at you as a ratings hit. Right. How hard is it for a guy like you who's pretty much, I mean, you're kind of a detail guy.

You're kind of a, I know your brother does not like longer half, times and changes in protocol. Did it drive you nuts? Well, I mean, I think you look at it. Yeah, I mean, hey, everybody loves a Sunday one o'clock game. I mean, that's kind of like, you know exactly what's coming. That's when you're used to practicing around that time. It's like just your routine and you love it.

But, I mean, you also get up and you get ready for the primetime games. And if you're going to be good, you got to get good at prime. You're making the playoffs. You're playing late at night. You're in a Super Bowl. You're at a weird time. You've got to be able to adjust to those things. So when you're the team, you've got to get up.

I mean, playing on a Wednesday night to start the season, that's kind of not a bad way to do it. You've got to get almost like an extra buy week in there. Get a long weekend off. You know, you're going through training camp. You get the end training camp a little early. So you don't mind starting on a Wednesday. That's kind of the way to do it. So I think it's just, hey, you want to be good and you want to play in the prime time when everyone's watching you.

So, and you've got to win in those games, and you can make a name for yourself and your team if you can win in those big games. You have kids. I've got kids. Some things I feel like I can nudge them a certain way. And then there are other times, it's just their personality. This is who they are. I look at Jackson Dart, good-looking, confident, can't stay out of the blue tent, loves to run. And my take is, can you coach that out of him?

or is it kind of innate to who he is and what is game? I mean, one of the reasons I like him. He's a baller. Like he just takes, he's got tons of confidence. Yeah, and I think you want to coach that up. I mean, I think there's, hey, you love the skill set. You love the competitiveness. You love, he's going out there, he's giving it all, he's leaving it all out on the field.

You love those things about them. The teammates rally around that. They appreciate that. and now you've got to coach it up, hey, how do you stay and play 17 games? How do you stay out of the blue tent? Those things of this, not taking those unnecessary hits. A lot of the young quarterbacks knowing where your protections are, where you're hot, so you're not just taking these big hits, but also, hey, you got the first down.

Let's slide and let's eliminate some of these hits. If you can eliminate five or six hits a game over the course of the season, that's a big toll. And so we got to stay healthy and we got to do that. And I think that's what John Harbaal, you get a guy. And I think Jackson is coachable. He does listen. It is important to him.

He is taking it all in. And you get, you know, you just need the right coach that's harping in every day. It's got to become kind of second nature. He's got to do it in practice. He's got to learn, hey, get down. Don't try to get the extra three yards, you know, in the first quarter. A fourth quarter, it's a different game. We got to go win football games.

So people came down, Eli, pretty harshly on Arch Manning, but it was his first year starting. Your career was kind of fascinating. I remember a seven and five year. Was that your last year? I'm not sure. But you had a lot of different years, and it was turbulent for you. Yeah. Well, so the year before was actually the seven and five year that my last year, we went, we went 10 and three, went seven and one in the SEC. So that was kind of my better year. The year before, it wasn't as good a year. I actually had a better sophomore year, not as good a junior year. And then, you know, so it kind of made my decision whether I wanted to come out early for the NFL draft or not very easy. I said, hey, I got to come

back and I got to prove, you know, hey, I'm a first rounder. I want to be the first quarterback, all these things. So I came and had a great senior year. I think, you know, like, I think, and that's kind of how you look at it or how I've looked at it with Arch. I mean, last year, you know, the expectations were not fair. I mean, he had played in two games. And all of a sudden it's like, all right, he's going to win the Heism trophy. He's going to do all these things. Like, you've got to play some games. You got to get hit. You got to have some bad games. You need to have bad games to learn from that. And no one was giving him the opportunity to the chance to have a bad game.

It was like, all right, he's already above that. Like, no, you have, you got to, that's part of playing in college football. That's part of playing in games is to have a terrible first half. Hey, can you turn it around in the second half? Hey, you lose a game. Can you bounce back to next week? These are all the moments that you've got to take in. And that's what he was able to do last year. He got better as his season went. And you hope this year, hey, he can be ready for these big games and going against an Ohio state. Or you're going against some of these SEC defenses that you're prepared for it and you know what to expect.

All right. You're partnering with Polly Market. So are we at the volume. So am I. Let's talk Netflix Thursday, Rams, San Francisco. I like the Rams. I think they've had three straight, excellent drafts. I think they've separated from the Niners in terms of personnel.

Another season-ending injury a day ago to the Niners on their defensive front. They're an old team. Old teams tend to get injured more, and when they're hurt, takes longer to get back. Rams feel like the play. You can trade them at 65% on Polly Market. I like the Rams, what say you? Well, I mean, I would see going to play in Australia is interesting. and two different takes. The Rams are going in the day before. The 49ers have been there for a week.

I think that kind of goes into your play. They're a little bit older team. Hey, let's get there. Let's get acquainted to what we're doing and make sure our guys are healthy and ready to go. But, hey, McVe, he's three and oh on international games. So you must be knowing, know, what to do. Stafford, you know, no one, maybe not a quarterback playing as well as anybody, especially, you know, against the 49ers, I think seven touchdowns last year, no interception. So, you know, everybody's already basically already given the Rams, you know, L.A., the Super Bowl. They're already saying, you know, hey, you got the Super Bowl.

It's all yours. And no one can touch them. So are they riding high? That'll be interesting. But, you know, Brock Purdy, Mike Evans, a new toy, you know, there in San Francisco. So for Purdy, that'll be good. McCaffrey is still one of the best running backs. in the NFL when healthy, and I think he's healthy right now.

So I think it could be a high-scoring game. It's just a matter. Can San Francisco slow down that offense? Okay. Second game, Bill's at the Texans. I like the Texans. I think by a long shot, they have the best defense in the league. Two great edge rushers.

Will Anderson, maybe defensive player of the year. Derek Stingley, maybe the best corner cover. I have Buffalo getting to the Super Bowl, but last year, New England did, and they lost to the Raiders in week one. So I think Buffalo is excellent, but it doesn't mean they're going to go to Houston and beat the Texans. I like Houston. They trade at 48 percent on Pauley Market right now. Eli, where do you lean? Yeah, I think this is one of the most exciting games of the opening week.

Two teams in the AFC that are really thinking Super Bowl. They've kind of, you know, Buffalo has been right on the edge for a long time. all of a sudden is, you know, kind of came out, was right there, one of the best defenses there is. So I think it's, you know, this game, you know, and Houston's, you know, seasons kind of going to come down to C.J. Stroud. Can he back to playing at a high level? Can he, you know, run that offense, make the explosive throws down the field, be aggressive. They got the good defense. So I think, you know, can they, can they, I think, you know, don't hold him back. Sometimes you got a great defense. They tell the quarterback, hey, don't

just make a mistake. He's got to go be aggressive and throw the ball down the field to Collins, but it's still Josh Allen. And Josh Allen is one of the most clutched quarterbacks in the NFL. He makes plays nonstop. And you can have the perfect defense, and he still finds a way to make a play because he escapes and creates. And so Joe Brady, new head coach, Jim Linder, new defense scores, a lot of new moving pieces happening there. Will they be able to get off to a fast start? I think that's kind of the unknown. And finally, Cowboys at the Giants, I have predicted the Giants will be my double their win-total team from last year. I think they're a playoff team.

First of all, I think they have elite edge rushers. I really love their draft. Isaiah likely, I think, is a really good get for them. He was a very, you know, he'll be very productive in the giant system. I think their weapons. If Andrew Thomas is healthy, I like their offensive line. Love their draft. Malachi Field from Notre Dame could end up.

being a great red zone wide receiver long. I like the Giants that you can get them. They're trading at 40%. I like New York in the opener at home where you land. Hey, I mean, New York, Giants have not beaten Dallas in a meaningful game. I don't think until, you know, last time was probably when Odell Beckham was playing there. And guess what? Odell's back.

That might be a good sign for the G-Men right there. So like you said, Dallas, you know, they lost one of their left guard and Smith. Giants have a great defensive front. Can they get some pressure on Dak Prescott? And, hey, is neighbors back? Is, you know, is Scataboo back? Are these guys healthy? They're such a big part of that offense.

And then Jackson Dart taking that second year step and staying healthy also. So health is a big issue for this week. can can the GMEN find a way to, you know, beat Dallas on the opening week? I feel like they play each other every year, first game of the season. It's not worked well in New York. So hopefully this time they can figure out a way. Before we let you go, Eli, you know, the league has really changed. Nobody plays in the preseason anymore.

Week one is, I mean, it's a lot of guessing. In fact, the preseason now is kind of a decoy where teams, will throw stuff out and will not use any of it in week one. Did you like preseason football? How would you have done with no snaps or less than five in the preseason? I hated preseason football. The only time I got hurt was in preseason football. I got my helmet ripped off and 12 stitches in my head.

And I hurt my elbow with peppers rushing around the end. I'm throwing. He hits the ball, but I still made a throw and did something to my Elmo missed a couple of weeks. So the only time I ever, you know, got injured preseason football. So, you know, for that reason, I never liked it. You know, you're not trying to show too much and you can kind of get stuck with some bad plays. You can look bad and then, you know, you feel terrible the next week.

So I was not a fan. So I would have liked this approach. Hey, let's go practice against a team for a few days, you know, preseason. Let's not show anything and let the young guys get out there. Good talking to you. All right, Tom. I appreciate, pal. This podcast presented by Bud Light.

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